Shock absorber



g- 1933- 1.. SIMON ET AL 1,921,951

SHOCK ABSORBER Filed July 18, 9

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Patented Aug. 8, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcc SHOCK ABSORBER Lucien Simon and Ren Maroon, Paris, France; said Maroon assignor, by mesne assignments, to said Simon Application July 18, 1932, Serial No. 623,263, and in France June 9, 1932 4 Claims. (01. 188-130) The present invention has for its object a casing are disposed two alternate series of brakshock absorber for all kinds of vehicles, railway ing discs 2, 3, which are slidably keyed to the cars, locomotives, automotive cars, automobiles inner periphery of casing 1 and to the outer for use on railway tracks, on roads, or otherwise, periphery of a hub 4 concentrically mounted in 5 flying machines and other uses, which shock said casing. Said hub 4 is rigidly fixed to the 69 absorber is remarkable in that it operates automovable arm 5 of the shock absorber which is matically in synchronism according to the speed connected to the axles of the vehicles the disof the vehicle and the unevennesses of the ground placements of which must be deadened with reon which the vehicle is moving. spect to the frame when shocks occur as a result The shock absorber according to our invention of the unevenness of the road and of the inertia 65 is characterized in that it comprises a circular of the vehicle. casing in which are fitted alternate sets of brak- A chamber 6 adapted to contain oil under ing rings or discs which are slidably keyed on the pressure fed through pipe 14 is closed on one of inner periphery of the casing and on the outer its sides by an elastic membrane 7 resting upon periphery of a concentric hub fixed to the mova disc 8 and upon ,a piston 9 slidably keyed so able arm of the shock absorber respectively. as to move axially in casing l. Said piston is Said hub is provided with projections having inprovided with projections having helical inclined clined helical outlines of suitable pitch, interlocksurfaces interlocking with corresponding projecing with corresponding projections having the tions provided on a piece 13. The opposite face same outline provided on a movable intermediate of said piece 13 is also provided with projections piece. Said piece is provided on its opposite face having helically inclined surfaces interlocking with similar projections having helical inclined with corresponding projections provided in a surfaces the inclination of which is the reverse piece 12 rigidly fixed to hub 4 by means of lug of that of the first mentioned projections and 20 provided on piece 12 and extending into hub which are adapted to interlock with correspond- 4. The two last mentioned series of interlocking ing projections provided on a piston slidably projections are inclined in opposite directions as keyed so as to move axially in said casing. The compared with the two first mentioned intercasing comprises a chamber containing a suitable locking projections. Disc 8 is connected through fiuid, oil for instance, compressed through a suitpush pieces 10 to an annular piece 11 adapted 39 able organ to a pressure which is a function of to act on the braking discs 2 and 3. the speed of the vehicle. Said chamber is closed The oil chamber 6 is fed through a suitable by one or several elastic membranes, one of organ, a pump 21 for instance, which feeds oil which is in contact with the above mentioned or another fiuid under a pressure that is preferpiston so as to modify the pressure of the liquid ably a function of the speed of the vehicle. A contained in said chamber. Either one part of check valve serves to separate for a certain time the only membrane present in said chamber or the oil chamber 6 from the remainder of the the other membrane or membranes are condevice so as to prevent a sudden egress of oil nected, either directly, or through suitable pieces from chamber 6 as a result of an excess of preswith the movable braking elements to which they sure. Said check valve may for instance consist transmit the variable pressure of the liquid conof a ball 15 pushed by a spring 1'7 against its seat 5 tained in said chamber. 18. When ball 15 is applied against its seat 18, Preferred embodiments of our invention will the oil is allowed to flow slowly through a small be hereinafter described with reference to the orifice 16 the diameter of which is chosen in accompanying drawing, given merely by Way of accordance with the desired time of discharge.

45 p and in Whichi The operation of the shock absorber according i Fig. 1 is a cross section of a shock absorber to our invention is as follows: according 0111 iIlVeIltiOIl; The liquid, which may be a special oil or any Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective views illustratother suitable fluid, is subjected to a manometric ing the operation of the inclined projections propressure corresponding to the speed of the vevided on the different parts of the shock absorber. hicle and is conveyed through pipe 14 into chain-" In the embodiment of our invention shown in ber 6 Where it is present under said pressure. the accompanying drawing, the apparatus com- That pressure is imparted to braking discs 2 and prises a complete shock absorber including a cas- 3 through disc 8, push pieces 10 and annular ing 1 provided with the usual parts through piece 11. The braking action of lever 5 is a which it may be secured to the vehicle. In said function of the frictional stresses generated be-' tween the faces of discs 2 and 3, which are subjected to the variable pressure exerted laterally by the oil present in chamber 6. The braking action of lever 5 is also a function of the angular position of lever 5 with respect to the inclined surfaces of pieces 9, l2 and 13. This is due to the fact that, as shown in Fig. .2, owing to the very arrangement of said inclined surfaces, when lever 5 is rotated in one direction, the action of the inclined surfaces of piece 13 on those of piece 9 causes said piston 9 to move toward the left hand side of the drawing. Likewise, when lever 5 is rotated in the opposite direction, the action of the inclined surfaces of piece 12 on the corresponding surfaces of piece 13 also causes piston 9 to move toward the left hand side of the drawing. Now, any displacement of piston '9 in that direction reduces the volume of chamber 6 and correspondingly increases the oil pressure in .said chamber, and consequently the pressure exerted on the braking discs 2 and 3.

It therefore follows that for equal angular displacements of lever 5, the braking power will be so much the stronger as the oil pressurein-chamher 6 is great, and that, on the contrary, if it be supposed that the oil pressure in chamber 6 remains constant owing to the above mentioned devices that are normally intended to insure that constancy, the braking power will be so much the greater as the angular displacements of arm 5 of the shock absorber are more important.

' It should be noted that the angular length of the inclined surfaces of pieces 9, 12 and 13 will vary according to the case, like the pitch of said inclined surfaces.

While we have described what we deem to be a preferred embodiment of our invention, it should be well understood that we do not wish to be limited thereto as there might be changes -made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of our invention as comprehended within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A shock absorber for a vehicle comprising in combination, a casing fixed to said vehicle, a rotary hub coaxially mounted in said casing, an arm rigidly fixed to said hub, two sets of alternate braking discs slid-ably keyed to the inner periphery of said casing and to the outer periphery of said hub respectively, a chamber means for feeding a fluid under pressure into said chamber, means sensitive to said fluid pressure adapted to press said braking discs against each other, and means operatively connected to said arm for varying the pressure in said chamber according to the angular position of said arm.

2. A shock absorber for a vehicle comprising in combination, a casing fixed to said vehicle, a rotary hub coaxially mounted in said casing, an arm rigidly fixed to said hub, two sets of alternate braking discs slidably keyed to the inner periphery of said casing and to the outer periphery -:0f said hub respectively, a chamber means for feeding a fluid under pressure into said chamher, a flexible membrane forming a wall of said chamber, means for transmitting the pressure of said membrane to said alternate sets of braking discs so as to press them against each other, a piston slidably mounted in said hub and bearing against the central part of said membrane, and means opcratively connected to said arm for moving said piston in said hub according to the angular position of said arm.

3. A shock absorber fora vehicle comprising in combination, a casing fixed to said vehicle, a rotary hub .coaxially mounted in said casing, an arm rigidly fixed to said hub, two sets of alternate braking discs slidably keyed .to the inner periphery of said casing and to the outer periphery of said hub respectively, a chamber in said casing, means for feeding a fluid under pressure to said chamber, a flexible membrane forming .a wall of said chamber, means for transmitting the pressure of said membrane to said alternate sets .of braking disks so as to press them against one another, a piston .slidably mounted in hub and bearing against the central part of said membrane, projections having helical inclined surfaces on the face of said piston that is not in contact with said mebrane, a piece integral with said arm disposed in said hub, projections having helical surfaces inclined in the opposite direction with respect to the above men- 7 tioned projections on the inner face of said LUCIEN SIMON. RENE MARCON. 

